On the day LSU women’s basketball honored “homegrown” legend Seimone Augustus with a statue, current Tigers standout Angel Reese made the 15-year former WNBA star feel “old and happy” at the same time.

Reese showed up with a photo she had taken with Augustus in 2011, when the latter played for the Minnesota Lynx. The pair recreated that moment, which highlighted Augustus’ role in growing the game — and her ongoing connection to the LSU program.

“Angel, I mean she made me feel old and happy all in one day with the picture,” said Augustus. “It’s like coaches always say, you never know who’s watching.

“That picture kind of symbolized that as a pro athlete, I wanted to make sure I gave autographs and pictures to some of the younger people that’s in the crowd, not knowing that this day would come but thankful that this day is here because Ms. Reese is now a Tiger.”

Two moments 12 years apart 💜🤍💛 https://t.co/AKSWAn6DDp pic.twitter.com/hs6q05P2Tg

— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) January 14, 2023

Once called the most influential recruit in the history of LSU athletics by former athletic director Skip Bertman, Augustus was enshrined in LSU basketball glory Sunday. The team unveiled a statue of the star outside of Pete Maravich Assembly Center before the undefeated Tigers’ game against Auburn.

Augustus finished her Tigers career in 2006 as the program’s second-leading scorer with 2,702 points. She also set an NCAA record of 132 games of double-figure scoring — which she did in 140 games total.

She also became the first female LSU athlete to have her jersey number (33) retired. The Lynx also have retired Augustus’ jersey. They drafted her No. 1 overall in the 2002 WNBA draft, and she spent 14 of her 15 WNBA seasons with the them.

Her former Lynx teammate Sylvia Fowles was in attendance Sunday as Augustus was honored.

Legend Supporting Legend 🤝 pic.twitter.com/VdmZV58MlO

— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) January 15, 2023

“There’ll never be another Seimone,” said former assistant coach Bob Starkey, who coached Augustus during her time at LSU. “There will be great players, but never another Seimone Augustus. Not at LSU.

“She was homegrown. That’s what make it different. She understands and loves Baton Rouge.”

Got Seimone her statue 💜🤍💛#ForeverLSU pic.twitter.com/eDvywIy80W

— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) January 15, 2023

For Baton Rouge native Augustus, the decision to attend LSU was also a decision to stay home and play ball for her hometown college. She was choosing between Tennessee and LSU, but ultimately decided to play for the Tigers, as they were the first to recruit her long before she topped her recruiting class.

“So many people here in Baton Rouge have followed my career since biddy-ball days so this is a celebration for everyone, not just myself,” Augustus said. “So many people were involved in this journey. I’m just grateful that it’s happening.

“I just felt like the things they were doing (at LSU) resonated most with me. Being at home giving my family, my supporters another four years to really let me become who I needed to become then go out into the world.

“Home is where the heart is.”

The 2025 NCAA volleyball championship game is officially on lock, as No. 3-seed Texas A&M and No. 1-seed Kentucky survived Thursday's semifinals to punch their tickets to Sunday's season finale.

After snapping overall top-seed Nebraska's undefeated season in last weekend's Elite Eight round, The Aggies kept their history-making hot streak alive, blowing past No. 1 Pitt as the first team to sweep the Panthers all year.

Leading the charge for A&M were sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers and senior opposite Logan Lednicky, who registered 16 and 14 kills, respectively, on the Final Four court in Kansas City.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

As for the last No. 1 seed standing, Kentucky survived No. 3 Wisconsin in a five-set thriller on Thursday, following the example of senior outside hitter Eva Hudson, whose 29 kills trailed only the semifinals-leading 32 posted by Badger senior outside hitter — and fellow AVCA Player of the Year finalist — Mimi Colyer.

With Kentucky hoping to add to their 2020 Division I title — the only NCAA volleyball championship in SEC history — the conference already owns the 2025 trophy, as Thursday set up the sport's first-ever all-SEC national final.

Though the 2025 SEC champion Wildcats seemingly have the edge over the conference's runners-up — Kentucky took down Texas A&M 3-1 in October — A&M's current momentum is undeniable, with the Aggies riding into Sunday's clash having ousted two No. 1 seeds and one No. 2 seed en route to a program-first national final.

"We are considered the underdog in a lot of these moments just [because] we haven't been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces," said Lednicky. "So why not us?"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship

No. 3 Texas A&M will battle No. 1 Kentucky for the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship at 3:30 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on ABC.

Retired WNBA icon Sylvia Fowles is returning to the court, with ESPN reporting on Wednesday that the former Minnesota Lynx star center will join the staff of the Portland Fire, becoming an assistant coach for the 2026 expansion team.

After reportedly fielding multiple offers of WNBA coaching opportunities, the 40-year-old will back up recently announced Portland Fire head coach Alex Sarama during the team's debut season, with the opportunity to help mold a fresh league roster and create culture from day one serving as a deciding factor in Fowles choosing the expansion franchise.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

The 2025 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee's resume underlines her ability to make an impact from the sideline, as the beloved WNBA alum packs both championship experience and a defensive mindset to aid a team still forming its identity.

In a 14-year playing career split between the Chicago Sky and Minnesota, the 2017 WNBA MVP won two league titles, earning Finals MVP honors alongside each of those Lynx championships.

A four-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Fowles exited her pro career as the league's all-time rebounds leader with 4,007 boards — a stat that held until current Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles passed the Hall of Famer in September 2024.

The eight-time All-Star also shined on the international stage, as Fowles snagged four Olympic gold medals during her time with Team USA.

With the 18-team UWCL league phase now done and dusted, the 12 clubs still standing discovered their paths to the Final in the 2025/26 Champions League knockouts draw on Thursday.

While the top four clubs — No. 1 Barcelona, No. 2 OL Lyonnes, No. 3 Chelsea FC, and No. 4 Bayern Munich — punched their way into March's quarterfinals behind elite league-phase performances, the remaining eight teams must battle in February's playoffs in order to advance.

Thursday's draw has reigning champs No. 5 Arsenal facing Belgian side No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the playoffs, but the Gunners then face a difficult road in the UWCL knockouts, staring down a potential quarterfinal clash with WSL rivals Chelsea as eight-time UWCL winners OL Lyonnes looms on the same side of the semifinal bracket.

Elsewhere, No. 7 Real Madrid have an opportunity to make UWCL history should they win their playoff tie against No. 10 Paris FC, setting up the tournament's first-ever El Clásico with a possible quarterfinal match against perennial winners Barcelona.

How to watch the 2025/26 Champions League Playoffs

The first-leg of the 2025/26 UWCL playoffs kick off with No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven hosting No. 5 Arsenal at 12:45 PM ET on February 11th, with No. 7 Real Madrid visiting No. 10 Paris FC at 3 PM ET.

The following day, No. 8 Juventus will take on hosts No. 9 Wolfsburg at 12:45 PM ET before No. 11
Atlético de Madrid faces the visiting No. 6 Manchester United at 3 PM ET.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.

The NWSL Players Association is not on board with the league's latest proposal, rejecting the NWSL's new "High Impact Player" rule allowing teams to exceed the salary cap by up to $1 million to retain star athletes.

According to the current CBA, the union — rather than the league — has the final sign-off on all changes regarding compensation.

"The league is trying to control and interfere by trying to dictate which players [benefit from] this pot of funds," NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke told ESPN. "How you measure a player's value, both in terms of sporting merit and business criteria, is nuanced. It is more complicated than a handful of bullet points."

The NWSLPA has instead suggested that the league simply raise the 2026 salary cap by $1 million, giving clubs the same spending discretion without the star player mechanism.

Citing concerns about the rule's potential long-term implications on the market, roster structures, and locker-room culture, Burke noted that "We just don't feel that it delivers anything of value that simply increasing the team salary cap wouldn't, without having negative consequences."

"Our position is that teams — GMs, soccer ops, business folks at the team level — are uniquely positioned to make judgment calls about how to structure their rosters, how to negotiate deals," Burke continued. "It is within the purview of the teams to make those judgement calls, and in a system of free agency like we all agreed to, that's how it works. It's a free market."

"We are actively reviewing feedback from the NWSLPA as part of the consultation process outlined in the CBA," an NWSL spokesperson said in response.

"The league remains committed to being the home of the world's best talent, and this path gives our clubs the opportunity to pursue that goal while raising overall player investment."